Military Support

Military Support

Military activity in Okaloosa County, and Florida as a whole, has long been a major contributor to the economy. Okaloosa hosts the largest military installation in the Department of Defense; Eglin Air Force Base. The military installations in the county are the #1 economic engine and generate additional employment by attracting defense contracting firms to the area. The defense-related spending in the County creates employment and investments and continues to multiply as it circulates throughout the region’s economy.

Tri-County Community Partnership Initiative, TCPI

A community partnership program is a framework through which military installation, civic, and business leaders collaborate to develop creative ways to leverage respective abilities and resources to reduce operating costs and increase capabilities on shared services. The net result is a “win-win” scenario where parties in an agreement realize a benefit. The EDC established the TCPI in 2013 as a public-public, public-private (P4) partnership facilitator to support local military installations.

Defense Support Initiatives Committee, DSI

With the largest military installation in the backyard, and the largest economic engine for Okaloosa County, the EDC established the DSI in 1996 as an ongoing military issues advocacy group to support and promote the local military installations, missions and their positive economic contributions to the tri-county area of Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton Counties.

Northwest Florida Greenway

The Northwest Florida Greenway is a beltway of encroachment protection for both military and non-military communities. With the growing needs of our population, environment and national security, the Northwest Florida Greenway provides a mutually beneficial answer to preventing encroachment. The Greenway geographic footprint is echoed by a proposed Sentential Landscape footprint.